LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles area is set to receive significant federal funding for projects intended to improve roadways and reconnect communities, Sen. Alex Padilla announced on Monday, March 11.
In total, $236.9 million will fund 17 projects across California to support neighborhood connectivity, roadway infrastructure and street safety.
L.A.’s Metro will receive $139 million for its “Removing Barriers and Creating Legacy” project, which is intended to make major improvements ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Metro’s project is intended to reconnect communities across highway and arterial barriers by improving bus speed and reliability, and making investments in first/last mile strategies and projects, mobility hubs and non-capital mobility solutions.
“With the 2028 Olympic Games around the corner, we have a responsibility to invest in transportation infrastructure that both makes the Games run smoothly and makes a lasting improvement to the mobility and connectivity of the communities who need it most,” Padilla said in a statement.
He added, “For far too long, communities across California have been cut off by the construction of highways and other transportation infrastructure, stifling mobility in the region.”
Another $9.96 million will support the construction of a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle overcrossing adjacent to the Humphreys Avenue bridge over I-710 in East L.A. This partnership between Metro, Caltrans and L.A. County’s Public Works will also bring online accessibility improvements such as upgraded crosswalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps and better sidewalks to the area, according to the statement.
The Port of Los Angeles will receive $5 million for its pedestrian bridge project that will go over two mainline freight tracks. The project will be able to accommodate emergency vehicles and it will connect the Wilmington community with the Wilmington Waterfront.
Visitors check out the newly completed Wilmington Waterfront Promenade on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in Wilmington. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
According to Padilla’s office, the funds come from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, respectively.
The Reconnecting Communities Pilot was modeled off the Reconnecting Communities Act that Padilla co-led in 2021.
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